Door.



No 797,574- PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905. J F. GRAY.

DOOR.

APPLICATION mum JAN. 23. 1905.

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DOOR.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1905.

Application filed January 23, 1905. Serial No. 242,270.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHN F. GRAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago Heights, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Doors,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to doors, and has for its object to provide new andimproved constructions for devices of that class. The invention is shownand described as applied to freight-cars for carrying grain. It will beclear, however, that the device is equally well adapted for use in otherconnections, and therefore I do not limit myself to the use abovementioned.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a vertical section through a portion of an ordinary box-carwith my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2, a sectional view on line 2 2,Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detail section on line 3 3, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a likeview on line a 4:, Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a detail of the door in elevationremoved from its position, and Fig. 6 a vertical section showing thedoor partly opened.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the drawings.

In the drawings, A represents the deck of a freight-car, resting uponthe joists A A; B, the roof, resting upon the framework B, and (l U theposts which form the uprights of the doorway. The car is of courseprovided with the usual sliding door, which, however, is not shown inthe drawings.

When the car is used for carrying grain or such like material, it isnecessary to have an inner door of some sort, and it has been common touse an ordinary slide movable in grooves in the door-frame. This isobjectionable, iusomuch as it is hard to move in unloading for one causeor another and is often broken by careless handling. In my invention thedoor is composed of a lower solid part, which may be made of onethickness of wood O and reinforced on the inside by the strips C C andon the outside by the rectangular framework The upper part of theframework has the bent plates (1 0, against which the instrument mayrest when prying the doorin. The lower edge of the latter is providedwith the pieces of angle-iron C C to protect the woodwork of the doorwhen it is pried up by a crow or the like. When my invention is usedupon grain-cars, the solid part of the door will extend up as high asthe grain-line. The solid part C of the door is connected with twoswinging supports D D, preferably of Wood, by means of the hinges D D,and these supports are hinged to the upper framework B by means of thehinges D D Blocks D D" must of course be interposed between theframework and the hinge, so as to compensate for the thickness of thedoor. In applying my invention to freightcars I prefer to make my upperhinges L- shaped, as shown, and abut them against the rafter adjacent toeach door-post.

In loading grain into the car it is advisable to have the doorway closedto a line somewhat above the grain-line. This may be done by placing aloose board E above the door 0, and to this end I provide supports D Dwith the side plates E E. The door-posts C C are preferably protected bythe angle-iron C", which makes a firm seat for the door and alsoprevents nailing up the door or the loose parts from within. In order tohold the door open, I provide the cams F F, pivoted to the doorpost at FF. The door is provided with the staples G G and by means of the hooks GUr may be drawn up close to the roof when not in use. In order to keepthe door in position when closed, I provide the decking A with thecleats H H.

I have thus described one form of device embodying my invention and havealluded to a particular use to which it may be put. It Will be clear,however, that the door may be used in other connections than thatmentionedin fact, wherever like conditions are met with. The particularform and materials of my device are also susceptible of wide variationWithout departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore do notwish to limit myself to the particular forms, devices, and constructionabove described, but desire that the drawings be taken as in a sensediagrammatic and illustrative of one form of construction of my deviceand one of its applications to use.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows: When the door isclosed, the hinges D D stand at dead-centers and the door is held firmlyin position against the posts by the weight of the material within. Toopen it, a crow or some such instrument is inserted between one of thebent iron plates 0 and the door-post and the door sprung in against thepressure of the grain. The camlatch F will hold it in its position. Thesame operation is then performed on the other side of the door, and bythis means the door is raised somewhat from the decking of the car andthe material therein will begin to run out. The weight of the materialitself will continue to raise the door, or it may be pried up by acrowbar or otherwise. When not in use, the door may be hooked up, as isshown in the dotted lines in Fig. 1. In this way I get a very strongsimple door, which is very easily opened from without and which cannoteasily be nailed up or tampered with from within.

I claim 1. A door adapted to be held closed bypressure of materialwithin, comprising two sections hinged together so that the jointbetween them folds inwardly, in combination with a door-frame comprisinga part against which the door-sections lie when closed and means at theouter face of one of such sections for flexing such hinged jointinwardly so as to allow the material to discharge.

2. In a door adapted to be held closed by material from within, thecombination of a frame with a door lying along and against such frame onthe inside thereof, such door comprising an upper hinged section, alower section hinged to the upper section .so that said door is adaptedto be forced against the framework by the weight of the material and tobe folded inwardly.

3. In a door adapted to beheld closed by material from within, thecombination of a frame with a door lying along and against such frame onthe inside thereof, such door comprising an upper hinged section, alower section hinged to the upper section so that said door is adaptedto be forced against the framework by the weight of the material and tobe folded inwardly, the hinges for the lower section being located onthe part of the door lying against the framework.

4. In a door for freight-cars and the like, the combination of a framewith an upper section hinged thereto, a lower section hinged to theupper section, such hinged parts standing at dead-centers and againstthe inside of such frame when the door is closed and adapted to besprung inwardly by pressure from the outside, means located at the outeredge of such lower section for springing the door open and a devicecomprising a cam which follows the door and holds it in its openposition against the pressure of material from within.

5. A grain-door for cars and the like comprising a framework, an upperdoor-section comprising two inwardly-swinging arms, a

lower door-section hinged to the upper section so that the joint thereoffolds inwardly, the hinges of such oint being in proximity to the outeredges of such section, and bearings for a crowbar or the like on suchlower section in proximity to the door-frame.

6. A grain-door for cars and the like comprising a framework comprisingtwo upright members, with an upper door-section composed of twoinwardly-swinging arms, a lower door-section hinged to the upper sectionso that the joint thereof folds inwardly, such lower door-sectionoverlapping the uprights of the door-frame, and the hinges of the jointthereof being on the overlapping part, and bearings for acrowbar or thelike on the lower door-section, composed of plates of metal placed inproximity to the uprights of the framework.

7. A door adapted to be held closed bypressure of material within,comprising two sections hinged together so that the joint between themfolds inwardly, in combination with adoor-frame havinga part againstwhich the door-sections are held when closed, such door-sections adaptedto fold inwardly to allow the material to discharge.

JOHN F. GRAY.

Witnesses:

HOMER L. KRAFT, LUCY A. FALKENBEHG.

